2026 American Turf odds, horses, field: Racing insider offers best bets, top picks for Saturday
The nation’s best 3-year-old turf horses sq. off when the beginning gate opens within the 2026 American Turf Stakes on Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. After a runner-up end within the Jeff Ruby Steaks, the Michael McCarthy-trained Stark Contrast has been put in because the lukewarm 4-1 favourite within the American Turf Stakes odds. Remember Mamba (9-2), Greenwich Village (6-1), Alpyland (8-1) and Final Score (8-1) spherical out the top 5 selections among the many 14 American Turf Stakes horses. Post time for the $1 million race is 4:06 pm ET.
With a number of gifted runners set to enter the beginning gate on Saturday, you NEED to see what Santa Anita-based racing reporter and insider Michelle Yu has to say earlier than making any 2026 American Turf Stakes picks.
Few folks in racing are as well-connected as Yu. An on-air host and reporter who has supplied racing evaluation for TVG, HRTV and the Breeders’ Cup, Yu has spent a lifetime in racing. Prior to her tv profession, she labored for trainers Steve Asmussen and Ron Moquett. She can also be married to Santa Anita-based coach Ryan Hanson.
Yu additionally has great handicapping chops. In a wide-open Kentucky Derby in 2021, she gave out Medina Spirit, who crossed the end line first, because the winner at 12-1. In Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager 4 years in the past, she prompt a play on All Other 3-Year-Olds, which cashed at a whopping 18-1 when Rich Strike received.
She began off 2025 by accurately going all-in on Citizen Bull to win the Robert B. Lewis Stakes, and she or he additionally predicted Forever Young’s win within the Saudi Cup, Journalism’s win within the San Felipe Stakes, Sandman’s win within the Arkansas Derby, Good Cheer’s win within the Kentucky Oaks and Mindframe’s win within the Churchill Downs Stakes. She additionally hit the exacta within the Kentucky Derby.
In August she hit the Fierceness-Journalism within the Pacific Classic, and simply final month she nailed the Renegade-Silent Tactic-Taptastic trifecta within the Arkansas Derby.
For the 2026 American Turf Stakes, Yu has made his picks and constructed his bets. One shock: She is excessive on Alpyland, an 8-1 longshot. “An absolute win machine, he has racked up four wins at three different tracks,” she says. Yu is utilizing Alpyland prominently in his wagers.
Moreover, his top decide is a horse who has “turned the page from 2 to 3 nicely.” She can also be excessive on a longshot who’s a “tencouraged colt.” She is together with these horses in her 2026 American Turf Stakes bets, and so must you. You ABSOLUTELY NEED to see her picks earlier than locking in any of your individual!
